BY GINA SALAMONE - NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Wednesday, October 1st 2008, 4:00 AM
Madonna's "Sticky & Sweet Tour" touches down in the New York area Saturday for five sold - out dates. The extravagant production has already broken attendance records in Europe and is sure to do the same here.
But the Queen of Pop is only as good as her courtiers. A skilled creative team carefully collaborates to match Madonna's tour theme with costumes, choreography and video clips.
And with multiple themes, that's no easy task. Four different acts move Madonna through her set list. It starts with "Pimp," paying tribute to gangstas, then "Old School," which honors her early days in New York. A "Gypsy" act is next, followed by "Rave" - featuring dance hits and robot - like fashions.
Here are some of the hardworking staffers who make it all happen:
5 QUESTIONS FOR THE COSTUME DESIGNER
Arianne Phillips
AGE: Won't say
JOB: Costume designer
HOURS: 13 hours a day, 6 - 7 days a week
MONTHS ON THE JOB: 4; she started prepping for the tour in May, and then attended the first three shows in Europe. Phillips worked on Madonna's previous four tours and has helped wardrobe the star offstage for 11 years.
Q: How many costumes did you have to put together for the show?
A: There are 25 performers besides Madonna who change six to eight times. Madonna has eight costume changes. And everyone gets doubles of everything, including the shoes, to last the duration of the tour. Madonna sometimes has up to six copies of one particular outfit so that it always looks fresh and great.